The Poetry of r.h. Sin

Hello again.  This the 2nd review for today.

I have two "books" from New York based poet r.h. Sin to talk about today.  I use books in quotes because these poems first appeared as tweets, limited by the characters on Twitter then those that could fit in a frame on Instagram.  The ones I have here today are Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I and Planting Gardens in Graves I.  There are several volumes in each series, and the series add together to be a blog of sorts of Sin's life, beginning the with the end of his previous relationship on to his marriage to his wife Samantha.  We have several of the volumes, requested by a former student. 

Sin (real name Reuben Holmes) has been labelled a Black Straight Male Urban Feminist.  I do not think he set out to be labelled as such, but alas the labels Human and Good Man got him treated poorly.  He wanted his previous girlfriend to see him as Good Man, but her education as a woman in the 2000s meant not so good men have hurt her in ways he, someone labelled a "male feminist" cannot get her to see beyond.

young woman

do not compromise yourself

for someone who refuses

to do right by you 

("inconsiderate", 117)

These poems hurt.  As a woman, to read how this man values women, hurts.  It hurts that so many men do not place value on certain traits, instead objectifying. Just today, a women's team is penalized for covering their legs.  In a month, will a female student be sent to the office for showing too much leg?  We can't win:

women are made 

to appear crazy

by the very men

who drive them

to the place of insanity 

("insanity driven", 45)

This is a personal journey, from the death of one relationship to the blossoming of another (shovel, bury, flowers...) and how both Sin and Samantha grow.  These poems are NOW as two Black Americans during a tumultuous time (2015-18): 

my brown skin

will not be a burden

my brown skin

will not be my enemy

I love me

regardless of their hate

("pride in brown", 108)

They, both the couple and the poems, are modern relationships with social media, instant communication, and never ending news getting in the way of being fully present with the other human sitting right next to you. I am guilty of this too.  I'll be sitting right next to my husband while we are both on our phones, instead of "being" together.

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W.